Sand, Strawberries and Stars
by ElizabethGugino
Summary: Ever wonder what that first date between Emma and Regina would be like? Who takes who out on a date? Was it easy to figure out what to do on that date to make it as special as possible? This one-shot is a companion story of When Push Comes To Shove. You don't need to read that to understand this but it is highly encouraged. *Swan Queen beginning! Rated T for romantic situations.


**disclaimer: do not own OUAT or any of the characters. **

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Emma couldn't believe how nervous she was. It wasn't like she had never been on a date before. No. That wasn't it at all. She had been on many but the only difference was that they were all with men. Regina Mills was a lot of things, but something that really hit the blonde tonight was that she was quite intimidating. And because of that, Emma definitely didn't want to do something wrong. She wanted this night to be perfect, for herself but mostly for her brunette date that just happened to be her son's adoptive mother.

"_What am I going to do?_" Emma thought to herself. She had spent many days thinking about what she was going to do on her first date with Regina Mills. "_I've got to ask dad's opinion. That's it. He's Prince Charming, for crying out loud. He'll know what to do._" So with that in mind, Emma hopped up out of her seat at the Sheriff's office and headed out the door to go speak with her father on such matters.

"Dad, can I ask you a question?" The blonde's hands were shoved into her pants pockets. Just by the way her father looked at her; she knew that he had suspicions already of her being nervous.

"Sure, Ems, what's going on?" He stopped what he was doing and leaned up against the kitchen counter in the apartment that they all currently shared.

"Well, dad, tonight is my…"

"First date with Regina?"

"Yeah, but how did you…"

"Know? I had a hunch. Not to mention, you're talking to the man that actually convinced you to ask the woman out, remember?"

"Ah, yeah. Well, I need some help. I can't figure out what to do tonight. I thought that maybe talking to Prince Charming might actually warrant me to a good idea." Emma was nervously rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Okay, Emma. Let me ask you some questions. First, what is one of her favorite things to do?"

"I would imagine spending time with Henry."

"Well, yeah, but besides that."

"I'm pretty sure that she loves to stargaze."

"Okay, does she have a favorite place to be right here in town?"

"She has taken to spending some time down on the beach lately."

"Alright, so there you have it. You have your date."

"I don't get it. You asked me two questions and you already know what I need to do? How do you do that and why didn't I inherit that?"

"Well, baby girl, this is what dads do, not just Prince Charming." He pushed himself away from the counter and walked the few paces to take Emma into a big hug. "You do know what to do now, right? Or do I need to spell it out for you?"

"Thanks, dad, but I think I've got it from here." The blonde pushed her father back and peered into his eyes. Without wasting any more time, she ran towards the door and out of the building towards her bug, but not without hearing some encouraging words from her father. "Good luck honey! I know you'll make this one count."

XXXXX

"Miss Swan, I think it would be in your best interest to tell me what we are doing after dinner. I don't want to make Henry wait up for me if we are going to be out quite late." The brunette was just setting down her almost empty wine glass in one of Storybrooke's finer establishments. However, as much as Regina pushed to get the answer out of the blonde, Emma was being extremely tactful when it came to the activity portion of their evening.

"Well, _Miss Mills_, I do believe that Henry will be fine with my parents for the evening. They will make sure that he gets to bed at a decent hour. As to my plans for the evening, that's for me to know and for you to find out when we get there." The glare that Emma had received from that statement would have scared anyone else away, but the blonde knew better. "I promise everything will be alright."

"Very reassuring, Miss Swan."

"Regina, would you please call me Emma? We're on a date. We don't need to be formal. It's just the two of us." Emma didn't miss a beat with that statement. She reached her hand across the table to place it over one of Regina's. The gesture was small and meaningful, especially to the brunette who was not used to that kind of affection. Or any at all.

"Very well, _Emma_. Dinner was exquisite. So if you would like me to rate the evening so far, I do believe that it would be around 7 out of 10."

"That's not overly reassuring. Dinner was _exquisite_ yet only rated at a 7? I'm going to need to do something about that."

"Oh yeah? And what, may I ask, are you going to do?"

Emma did not satisfy Regina with an answer but just stood up from her chair and pushed it back in under the table. The brunette was watching her every move but in doing so, it still didn't explain what the blonde was planning on doing. Emma crossed around to the opposite side to where the brunette was sitting and held her hand out to Regina.

"Miss Mills, could I interest you in a walk in the great outdoors?"

"Yes, you may." Clearly intrigued, Regina placed her closest hand in Emma's outstretched one and allowed the blonde to lead her out of the restaurant. Stopping at the car briefly, Emma grabbed out a candle and a lighter. She lit the candle quickly and then slipped the lighter into her pocket. Then the blonde continued to lead her to a wooden walkway that led down to the shoreline. In the distance, Regina could just make out a darkened area on the beach. It was a blanket that had already been laid out. On the blanket was a picnic basket. Emma led Regina to this spot, sat down on the blanket and sat the candle down next to the basket. The brunette watched in admiration as the blonde leaned over, opened the basket and began to pull out two wine glasses, a bottle of wine, and two identical Tupperware containers.

"Could I offer you a glass of wine? It is a white zinfandel." Holding the bottle of wine and an empty glass in her hands, she doesn't wait for an answer before she begins to pour the white liquid.

"I would love one, Emma, thank you." The blonde handed her the half full glass and then continued to poor herself one as well. "Emma, do I dare ask what is in the containers?"

"You may and I will answer." The blonde handed her glass of wine to the brunette for her to hold on to for a moment while she reached over to the two Tupperware containers. Pulling them closer to her and removing the lid of the first, she revealed what seemed to be a chocolate sauce. After carefully setting that down on top of the now empty picnic basket, she removed the lid of the second container to reveal fresh strawberries. She placed them next to the chocolate sauce. The brunette was beyond impressed so far and it seemed like the blonde still had more up her sleeve. Emma stood, taking the lighter out of her pocket and walking behind their picnic area. Hidden from Regina, in the tall grass the lined the beach, were more candles. One by one, the blonde picked them up to light them and set them back down wedged into the sand. Soon, they were surrounded by the dim light that the candles had provided them and the blonde came back to sit down next to the brunette.

"Emma, you did all of this?" Regina asked Emma this question mainly because she did not figure the blonde to be so perceptive to romantic gestures.

"Of course I did, Regina. I did all of this for you. And I have been hoping very much that you like it."

"I love it, Emma. This couldn't be more perfect." The brunette's features had softened more than the blonde had ever seen. The wall that is the Mayor was gone and it gave Emma a full view of the person underneath it all.

"I remember you telling me one night about how much you liked coming down to the beach. That it was like a safe haven for you, somewhere you could be yourself and you didn't have to put on a mask. I've been on many dates before but I found that this one is by far the most important to me. I did not want to screw anything up. But most of all, I knew that I wanted to be with you. The _you_ that I see with Henry. I want to be with _you_, Regina." During the blonde's little speech, Regina had been slowly moving closer to the blonde. She didn't really know it until she glanced down at the blonde's bottom lip and then realizing how close she was getting, she quickly looked back up into Emma's eyes when she felt the need to explain herself. But not before her hand started creeping towards the blonde's which was hovering beside the candle between them.

"Thank you, Emma. You don't know how much this means to me. I've not had anyone care enough for me like this in a very long time." The brunette's words started to falter from her nerves. "I'm sorry if… if I say anything that… that offends you. I'm just not used to… _this._" The brunette's breathing was quickly becoming short but accelerated breaths. The blonde was looking into those dark eyes and saw that Regina only spoke the truth. And there was something deeper. Something much more honest that made her seem so broken. The blonde's heart was breaking at the brunette's admittance and only wanted to assure Regina that with her, everything was going to be alright. Emma noticed the slight lean that the brunette did along with her advancing hand and decided to take a chance. The blonde leaned further towards the brunette, bringing their noses together until they were almost touching.

"I think I could get used to _this_ though." The women's lips were ghosting over each other now with their eyes shut. Both of them were taking in the feeling that was produced by their senses when they were so close together. Emma, being the one that is taking the chances so far in the relationship, decided that she had enough of the barely touching. She wanted to feel Regina's lips on hers. So, she leaned the hair further to reach the brunette's lips. The blonde pushed more towards Regina and once she sensed that the brunette was no longer tense and finally relaxing into the kiss, she brought her right hand up to the brunette's cheek. Emma felt her heart racing from the touch of the brunette's lips. Almost going dizzy from the excitement. She was kissing Regina Mills. _Regina Mills._ How many people ever got to do that?

Regina wanted Emma to kiss her first and she was expecting it to happen, but what she was unsure of was whether she really wanted it or not. Once the blonde's lips touched hers though, there was no turning back. She realized that yes, she wanted Emma, at least for now. When the blonde placed her hand on Regina's face, the brunette gasped into the kiss, acknowledging the sudden contact. The need for air was growing and the brunette couldn't take it anymore. She pulled back only enough to breathe but still have her forehead up against the blonde's.

"_Emma… _that was… _breathtaking._"

"I know, Gina, it was perfect." Leaning in once more, Emma took advantage of those luscious lips that she had already tasted. This time, it was the brunette that was doing most the leading, however. She parted lips just enough to poke her tongue through and onto Emma's bottom lip. The blonde wasn't one for second-guessing herself so she complied with the request and allowed the brunette to run her tongue between her lips. The kiss was so sweet, not rushed or forced, but mutually slow and full of care. Finally demanding air, the blonde pulled away this time.

"Okay, I think we can both agree that that is going to happen more."

"Oh, is that so,_ Miss Swan_?" A small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"I would say yes, definitely. But personally, I would like to not have these strawberries go to waste. Especially with this chocolate sauce. I promise that it is the best thing in the world with wine."

"And you know this for a fact?"

"Yes, I do actually. I have had many occasions where I may have been bored and lonely on a Friday night and tried to cheer myself up with strawberries and wine." Lifting a strawberry out of the container and only holding onto the stem, the blonde dipped it into the chocolate sauce. Bringing her other hand up to be held underneath it, she offered the first to the brunette. "Here, try it."

Not wanting to lose the romance, Regina decided that she was going to make Emma feed it to her. The blonde, being as compliant as ever, figured that would happen and slowly brought the chocolate dipped strawberry to Regina's lips. As if on purpose, or maybe it was all part of the plan, the blonde let some of the chocolate drip onto the brunette's lower lip before she bit down into the strawberry. Pulling back her hands and the half-eaten strawberry, Emma watched the brunette chew the small bit of strawberry and chocolate mix. Regina's eyes hadn't left the blonde's as her senses went crazy over the firework combination. The blonde noticed a small bit of chocolate sauce still sitting on the brunette's lip and let out a small giggle.

"What is so funny, _Emma_?"

"It's just that… ummm… you have some…" Emma had lifted her hand to point on her face where Regina had the sauce but when the brunette tried to find it, she was proving to be very unsuccessful. Instead, the blonde decided to show her where it was personally, but not in the traditional sense. She leaned over to Regina and whispered into her ear. "Here, let me help you with that." Emma moved her mouth down to where the chocolate sauce resided on the brunette's lower lip and began to lick it off in slow, tantalizing swipes. Then she began to kiss along the brunette's jaw when she heard a throaty moan come from Regina. Stopping her attack on the jaw, Emma relocated her lips to Regina's and pushed into them with a fierce passion. Taking her hands and putting one behind the brunette's neck and the other on the brunette's waist, she began to lower Regina down onto her back, keeping their lips connected. Several moments went by without any objections so Emma continued kissing Regina, savoring every single feature. From the plumpness of her lower lip to the scar that rested just above her upper lip.

Regina was loving every minute of this but with her past, she didn't want to mess anything up by going too fast too soon with the one person that could change her world forever. She pulled her head back from the blonde. "Emma, as much as I love this right now, can we just lay here like this for a while?"

"Yes, Gina, anything to make you happy."

"Oh, Emma, I'm happy just like this. I don't want anything to happen too fast for us. I like where we're going right now." The blonde looked deep into the caramel brown eyes that were filled with compassion and love and realized that she was with the Regina that she always wanted to be with. She was completely content. Moving her hand up to push a couple strands of hair out of Regina's face, she felt it was okay to sneak just one more simple kiss before they laid in each other's arms under the stars for the rest of the night.

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Hope you like it! Please review! If you liked this companion story and maybe have some more ideas for Emma and Regina, let me know. I'll write from prompts and you could have the chance of being of part of this relationship between the two women!


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